804: Chapter 795: A Cover at the Cost of Life 804: Chapter 795: A Cover at the Cost of Life The Chieftain and his men’s shooting habits were taught by Gao Yang.
When hunting, it was usually just a matter of firing a single shot.
If it hit, it hit; if it missed, the game would just run away.
And if they shot a large animal and a single bullet wasn’t enough, the shooter or someone nearby would immediately fire another to finish the job.
The distance was very short, and the Chieftain and his men had no problem shooting at a still target, but once people became chaotic, started to look for cover, or began to run, it would be much more difficult for them to shoot accurately.
Nevertheless, the Chieftain and a few others persisted in pulling the trigger for single shots instead of using short bursts, which would have a higher hit rate.
Gao Yang knocked down Sadiq and casually took out another nearby enemy.
Instead of shooting at the people running around in the camp, he immediately aimed his gun at the houses that were likely inhabited by the Tuareg People.
Gao Yang wanted to seal off the remaining three Tuareg elders.
He wasn’t worried about the panicked crowd, but he was very concerned that once those three Tuareg elders got the chance to shoot, they could cause casualties due to the close proximity—it would be hard for them to miss.
Therefore, not giving them the opportunity to shoot at all was the best approach.
In the midst of everything, Gao Yang turned his head and shouted, “Shoot…”
Gao Yang didn’t know how to tell the Chieftain to fire in bursts since there was no such word in the Akuri tribe’s language, not even one with a similar meaning.
“Shoot like this!”
Out of options, Gao Yang shouted and then quickly turned his gun to aim at a target and fired a three-round burst, followed by another quick burst after shifting his aim.
Many things don’t need to be taught explicitly.
For the Chieftain and his men, it was just an issue of shooting habits that kept them from firing in bursts.
They had been inseparable from their guns for over two years and were extremely familiar with their weapons’ characteristics.
Even if they switched to an unfamiliar shooting method, they only needed a short period of time to adapt.
After Gao Yang’s reminder, the Chieftain and his men immediately changed their shooting method.
Although they couldn’t control their shots to three rounds with each trigger pull like Gao Yang, firing one or two extra bullets wasn’t a big problem.
The fighting strength displayed by the Chieftain and his men truly surprised Gao Yang.
As long as they fired, it was only after they saw an opportunity, and after switching to burst fire, their hit rate immediately improved.
Several enemies who had not taken cover were quickly hit as they tried to sprint away.
Moreover, due to their habit of coordinating while hunting, when the Chieftain and his men chose their targets, they almost always fired at the same person simultaneously.
It wasn’t that all four of them shot at once, but rather the Chieftain would fire himself, or simultaneously with Balix, and if they didn’t hit the target, Balix and Kusto would immediately follow up with additional shots.
The enemy might dodge the first shot but would have no chance to avoid the third and fourth follow-up shots.
Being able to target the same person simultaneously was one thing, but what really astonished Gao Yang was that the Chieftain and his men, although scattered, could still coordinate as if they were telepathic.
This level of understanding was rare; even the Satan Mercenary Corps didn’t have such coordination, nor did any small groups of two or three people.
Furthermore, the Chieftain and his men even knew to shoot and move, though not over large distances.
After each shot, they would immediately move five to ten meters.
If it wasn’t for the fact that their shooting range was too short, Gao Yang might have wondered if he was fighting side by side with a group of elite infantry.
Far from being a drag, the Chieftain and his men were a great help to Gao Yang, who then confidently turned his gun back toward the door of the Tuareg house.
There were three houses on the outskirts of the camp.
Gao Yang didn’t know which one had people in it, so he could only move his gun back and forth among the three doorways.
All three houses lacked windows; they were made of logs, and while it was easy to cut a hole in the wall, fitting glass windows was difficult.
In such a remote place, obtaining glass was a luxury, and not very practical, so only Sadiq had the luxury of glass windows in his room.
The mosquitoes in the rainforest were no joke.
Being bitten all over was the least of one’s worries; the various diseases transmitted by mosquitoes could be fatal.
To avoid being swarmed by mosquitoes during sleep, the sleeping areas had to be windowless.
The wooden huts in the camp were built quickly and without considering the inclusion of windows.
From what Gao Yang had seen in the outposts he had attacked, even those with permanent occupation didn’t have windows, so it was even less likely for these hastily constructed huts to have any.
As it turned out, aside from Sadiq’s hut which had a small window fitted with a pane of glass, and another larger window covered with a sheet of plastic, the other huts were windowless.
The lack of windows was important, for without them, there was no opportunity to shoot from inside.
The options were to stand at the doorway to shoot or to come out, so Gao Yang just had to wait for someone to appear at the door.
Gao Yang knew which Tuareg People wouldn’t rush out immediately; the Old Fox would surely observe the situation before deciding to leave the hut, and he would definitely test the waters before coming out.
Finally, the door of the hut furthest out opened inward, and then, a black head promptly peeked out.
Gao Yang’s finger nearly pulled the trigger, but he ultimately controlled himself and did not shoot, because if the black shadow that looked like a head was really a head, then the amount of time it spent observing was too long.
Indeed, the shadow receded back into the room, and then a person wearing a black robe suddenly rushed out.
Although Gao Yang fired immediately, his first shot missed the target.
However, Gao Yang was waiting for this opportunity.
It was a battle of wits against an unprepared enemy, and it was just a matter of firing an additional shot.
After aiming at the Tuareg man who had already moved four or five meters from the house, Gao Yang fired again, and this time he finally hit his target.
Before firing again, Gao Yang knew something was amiss.
The door to the house was in the very corner, and the person leaving the house didn’t turn to hide behind the corner as he had anticipated.
Therefore, Gao Yang, who was prepared to fire at the corner, couldn’t follow the opponent’s movements in time.
Turning behind the corner would have provided cover and freedom from the restrictions of the house, but Gao Yang’s target ran straight across the open ground.
There could only be one reason for this: he was intentionally drawing away any potential ambush, and he indeed succeeded.
There is nothing new under the sun.
Why is it that people who have been on the battlefield for a long time are not easily killed?
Because they have experience.
With experience, they know what is dangerous and what is safe, what is normal and what is not.
If you know the enemy is experienced, then when something abnormal happens, it’s definitely not normal, not a coincidence, nor a mistake, but just abnormal.
Under normal circumstances, when something abnormal happens, it sounds convoluted, but if you subconsciously feel the enemy is not normal, Gao Yang’s first reaction would be to think it’s a trap.
Therefore, after shooting, he immediately executed a sidestep and fell to the ground as a defensive move, and as he hit the ground, he heard the sound of bullets whizzing above his ears.
In a showdown between experts, if response time is measured in seconds, you’re as good as dead.
Gao Yang definitely made the evasive maneuver with all his might the moment he shot, a millisecond reaction that hardly involved thinking—just a feeling that something was not right followed by an immediate physical reaction, and his response saved his life.
The willingness to sacrifice oneself is not limited by nationality, race, or whether one is good or evil.
It can emerge in anyone.
Sometimes, the one who decides to sacrifice may appear weak in daily life and may not think much before making the choice, but he will risk his life to buy an opportunity for his comrades.
If he survives, he might find his action astonishing in retrospect, but at the moment of decision, life is no longer a concern.
Gao Yang and Cui Bo dare to use their own lives to draw fire for each other, so Gao Yang never doubted that there are others in the world who can do the same—and there are many of them.
Friendship or kinship doesn’t care about one’s character; even someone utterly devoid of conscience and rotten to the core will have people willing to die for them.
On the battlefield, this proportion is incredibly high, and this time, those Tuareg men did just that.
“Take cover!”
As he hit the ground with a roar, Gao Yang crawled a short distance, then without raising his head shouted, “Is everyone in cover?”
No one responded, and Gao Yang knew the Chieftain and the others had taken cover.
With an understanding that didn’t need words, many things were just known.
After wiping off the cold sweat, Gao Yang quickly peeked out to see that there was no one in front of the door of the house he had ambushed.
Knowing he hadn’t hit Gao Yang, the Old Fox wouldn’t hesitate to hide, which was the correct response.
Having lost the opportunity, unless there was certainty of hitting the target, it was better not to shoot.
Spraying bullets towards where the enemy was taking cover, hoping for a stray hit, relied too much on luck; revealing one’s position and getting killed by the enemy’s counterfire only tested the enemy’s ability.
Old soldiers don’t trust their luck; they trust their skill.
If it’s possible, it’s possible; if not, then it’s not.
Especially when they know the enemy is formidable and capable of making a lethal counterattack, while they have to rely on luck rather than certainty to end the fight, isn’t that just courting death?
There are times when one is forced to bet on luck and courage, but those are desperate choices made with the readiness to die, when ability can no longer determine the outcome of the battle, and all that’s left is to take the gamble.
There were no targets left to shoot in the open ground in front of the camp.
The Tuareg old man had disappeared.
However, their whereabouts were easy to guess; surely they had hidden behind the corner of the building.
Without an opportunity to shoot, the Chieftain and his men wouldn’t move carelessly.
Their patience was as good as their stamina in a long run.
Gao Yang could only look for a chance to shoot, but he didn’t dare to move recklessly, and the enemy, though taken by surprise, did not have many casualties, as most people who had been near the vehicles or the house had already taken cover.
Gao Yang wasn’t in a hurry, and he couldn’t afford to be.
While others might react differently, he knew that the Tuareg’s Old Fox would definitely not let him go.
(To be continued.
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